Stakeholder meeting for drug information and pharmacovigilance in Vietnam

Nguyen Xuan Hung of the Vietnamese Pharmaceutical Association recently informed FIP that in October of this year, the Vietnam Ministry of Health in cooperation with the WHO office in Hanoi and other NGOs organized the workshop "Stakeholder Meeting of Drug Information and Pharmacovigilance Systems in Vietnam". About 200 delegates from the US and French France Embassies, non-government organizations, industry, hospitals and medical and pharmaceutical institutes took part in workshop.

Dr Cao Minh Quang, Vice-Minister and Dr. Jean Marc Olive, the Head of WHO office in Hanoi chaired the workshop.

Dr. Cao Minh Quang said:"Ensuring the rational, safe and efficacious use of drugs is one of main objectives of Vietnam National Drug Policy. The Ministry of Health constantly pays attention to carry out NDP, especially promoting the rational use of drugs. Still in 1998 the Vietnam Drug Information center was recognised by the Stockholm ADR center as the 55th member. Now, in March of 2009 the MOH decided to establish the National Center of Drug information and Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring (National center of DI&ADR ) on the basis of the former ADR center. The objectives of this Center are to collect and supply information about ADR, providing guidelines to health establishments at different levels, international cooperation and consultancy, providing services in the DI&ADR area....".

Dr. Jean Marc Olive underlined: Problem of Drug and Pharmacovigilance can be succesful, when there is good cooperation between hospitals, institutions, patients from all over the country; the combination of therapeutic section with the industry and regulatory authority; the co-ordination with world stakeholders.

WHO leaves the responsibility to Vietnam to establish the system DI&PV in the country so that this system can work properly, effectively and economicaly.